This invention relates to a device for transferring flexible sheet-like materials (hereinafter referred to as sheet materials) such as photosensitive films, paper, and plastic films. More particularly it relates to a guide for smoothly inserting sheet materials into a slit-like insertion port.
In a device for transferring sheet materials using belt transfer means or roller transfer means such as for use in a process camera equipped with an automatic rolled photosensitive film feeder, electrostatic copying machine, automatic developing machine, or flexible printed circuit board producing device, a guide 1 shown in FIG. 5 has heretofore been used. Such guide 1 is formed with a slit-like insertion port 5 for introducing a fed-in sheet material 2 into transfer means 3 and is provided with sloped section 7 with the spacing between it and an insertion base 6 being gradually narrowed toward the insertion port 5 in the upstream side of the latter so that the sheet material 2, even if having warp resulting from its being rolled, may not be folded or cause a jam. This guide 1, as shown in FIG. 5, is associated with restriction bars 4 which cover opposite lateral ends of the sheet material 2 to ensure that it enters the guide 1. However, as shown in FIG. 6, if the spacing between the restriction bars 4 is less than the width of the sheet material 2 at its leading end to thereby enable only a middle portion of the leading end of the sheet material 2 to enter the guide 1, such sheet material would be folded at its front end corners in triangular form or cause a jam. For example, a slit exposure camera 10 as shown in FIG. 7 is designed to place a sheet material 2 such as a sensitive film on a transparent plate 11, to lower a pair of pressing members 12 to contact the sheet material 2 with the transparent plate 11 during exposure, to lift the pair of pressing members 12 upon completion of exposure, and to cause suction transfer means 13 to suck the portion of the sheet material 2 extending beyond the pair of pressing members 12 so as to transfer it to discharge rollers 14. In such camera 10, the pair of pressing members 12 function as said restriction bar 4 during discharge of the sheet material 2. Since a space or room must be kept aside on each lateral side edge of the sheet material 2 for sucking the sheet material 2 by the suction transfer means 13, the pair of pressing member 12 or restriction bars 4 cannot be disposed with a spacing to cover the entire width of the sheet material 2 as viewed in the direction of transfer. It often occurs that, as in the slit exposure camera 10 shown by way of example in FIG. 7, because of various factors such as the construction and space factors, the sheet material 2, having only a portion of its leading end pressed, is transferred into the slit-like insertion port 5 as by roller transfer means. In this case, with the conventional guide, the sheet material 2 is folded or cause a jam.
In addition, in FIG. 7, the numeral 21 denotes an original mount; 22 denotes a film; 23 denotes a triangular mirror; 24 denotes a lens; and 25 denotes a mirror.
An object of the present invention is to provide a guide which eliminates such inconveniences, wherein when the sheet material is transferred into the slit-like insertion port, even if it is not introduced into the guide throughout its width at it leading end, the guide prevents the sheet material from being folded or causing a jam.